skip to content
 
XMM-Newton Guest Observer Facility

XMM-NEWTON HARDWARE IMAGES - OM


Completely Mounted OM Telescope in Testing

XMM OM testing

(Photo courtesy of Mullard Space Science Laboratory, England)

Side view of a fully mounted OM telescope, with baffle, tube and blue OM detector electronics. The structure is fixed at the OM interface to the mirror support platform (square piece) on which also the X-ray telescopes will be mounted.

OM Telescope with Blue Detector - Front View

XMM OM blue

(Photo courtesy of Mullard Space Science Laboratory, England)

View down the OM telescope tube, onto the 45° mirror reflecting the incoming light onto the detector. The toothed wheel is the OM filter wheel, which can be seen much better in the next photo.

OM Blue Detector with Filter Wheel

XMM OM filter wheel

(Photo courtesy of Mullard Space Science Laboratory, England)

The OM was originally designed to carry two different types of detectors, one blue and one red, named after the part of the optical spectrum where they have their maximum sensitivity, with a beam-splitting dichroic mirror in front of the two detectors. After a design change, there are now only two blue OM detectors (in cold redundancy; i.e. only one OR the other can be operated), with a reflective mirror in front. The view presented in this photo follows the way of the incoming light, which will pass through filters on the (now empty) filter wheel slots.


If you have any questions concerning XMM-Newton send e-mail to xmmhelp@lists.nasa.gov